Reviewing the Possibility of Using Marginal Soils as Backfill Materials for Mechanically Stabilized Earth Retaining Walls

Abstract

Soils with less than 15% fines content are recommended as backfill materials for mechanically stabilized walls to maintain optimum performance and avoid any serviceability problems. However, the shortage and/or the high cost of such soils have encouraged civil engineers to find safe methodologies to employing the available native soils. To the authors’ knowledge, these approaches have been reviewed in this paper, and their limitations have been discussed. Further, the article also examines the experimental techniques used to measure the interaction at the interface between the soil and the reinforcing elements due to their importance in fulfilling an accurate design.